[s-cars] [s-cars]NAC/Brits - and the problems of older Audis

[GreenBugeye at aol.com]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
In a message dated 9/16/02 3:13:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
s-car-list-request at audifans.com writes:

> Humor doesn't travel does it? Or maybe it just wasn't funny. Chris - I
> wasn't ridiculing you guys, I was ridiculing us Brits, and those of us
> addicted to what my wife calls our "stupid old cars".

Adrian, I took your post in the tongue-in-cheek manner it was intended, and
hope my response was received with similar good humor!  No blood, no foul!

> I suppose there was a vaguely serious point hidden in my Monday morning
> ramble. Given the inclination it is still possible to keep these old
> british
> cars on the road. I'll put it another way. Audi no longer supports many of
> the spares you might reasonably require for the ur-q. That's the one true
> classic they've ever made, and they've turned their back on it already. <
> snip>
>
> OTOH, I can get any spare I want for the TR6, overnight. In a nutshell,
> people are still enthusiastic about the things, despite their undoubted
> failings. Will anyone still get worked up over the //S4/6 in forty years
> time? I really doubt it. In fact probably the only people who'll remember
> them are to be found on this list.

You hit on a very interesting point, one that is discussed often on the
various British car lists I'm on.  One great thing about LBCs is that there
is now an almost limitless supply of most of the major parts one might need
for all the most common models.  Accordingly, many of the cars that would
otherwise have long been in the junkyard have been saved and restored, and
continue to be cherished by doting owners all over the world, myself proudly
included.

However, according to many who owned these cars through the early 80s, there
was a real shortage of spares at that time, most likely because they were
just viewed as old cars, not as classics, and British Leyland had just gone
under.  However, the enthusiasm of the die-hard owners is what kept them
alive -- finally, someone realized that money could be made supplying the
bits and pieces folks needed to keep them on the road.  Sadly, I don't see a
similar fate for our beloved Audis.  In fact, I don't see a similar fate for
any of the German sporting sedans.

LBCs are simple.  There's no computer-controlled anything -- just a battery,
a dynamo and some wiring.  I am frankly in awe of some of the technical
expertise I see posted on this list when it comes to computer-controlled
items and sensors and the like.  Just amazing how much time and effort folks
have spent to learn the intricacies of these systems that were designed to be
modular -- if they break, you just replace them.  Even more amazing to me is
the invention and innovation undertaken by some listers who want that little
bit extra from their cars.  (Just today I learned that Hap Maguire has hot
and cold running water in his S4! ;-)

Still, with so few UrS-cars built (as opposed to the seemingly rare Jaguar
E-Type, of which more than 72,000 were built), and the total number of them
still in use declining, we will eventually reach a point where those who
manufacture parts, and particularly those who supply performance upgrades,
will be unable to economically justify continuing to supply such things.
When that happens, it will take the dedication of a group of commited
enthusiasts to keep things going.  Even then, the effort might fail.

One thing we can do is try to pass our enthusiasm on to our children.  If you
ask anyone who is into Model T Fords, they'll tell you that that group of
enthusiasts made the mistake of thinking that their cars were serious toys
and intended only for serious adults.  Accordingly, young folks who might
have been interested felt unwelcome in the club, so they never took to them
and the number of those faithful to that car is now dwindling rapidly.

> Anyway - Chris, I'm sorry you got the wrong end of the stick. One thing you
> should understand is that, despite what some people may say, over here the
> fact that we "only survive today because of U.S. intervention" is not
> forgotten. I note you and I have both "suffered" since '87, so if ever we
> can we should meet up for a beer. Even tho your car is from "the other
> place". ;-)

Actually, that was a reference to the fact that the vast majority of British
roadsters were made for the American market, and it was largely American
enthusiasts who rallied around the cause to keep them alive.  We never got
many of the Triumph sedans, for instance -- they weren't imported much -- and
I certainly see more LBCs around here in 2002 than I do UrS-cars!  (The
implied WWII reference just kinda fell into place behind that!)

I flat love British sports cars -- there's nothing else like them -- and I've
loved every moment I've spent blasting them through the leafy countryside of
Ohio.  Glad to take you up on the beer!  Your side of the pond or mine?  ;-)

Chris Eck
Akron, Ohio
93 S4 TQ
59 Bugeye